Hayden tops Jerez test, Rossi rides 2005 bike.

Repsol Honda’s Nicky Hayden, third in Sunday’s season opening Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez, has set the pace during Monday’s test session at the same circuit.

Hayden set a best time of 1min 39.910secs on his factory Honda which, if set on race rubber, is well inside the official circuit record of 1min 40.596secs – set by Valentino Rossi back in 2005. The pace in Sunday’s grand prix was significantly slower, with race winner Loris Capirossi leading the field with a 1min 41.248secs best.

Behind Nicky, Sete Gibernau – whose Desmosedici broke down while holding third early in Sunday’s race – again underlined what might have been by finishing the day second fastest, on what were definitely race tyres, with Capirossi 0.3secs slower for third (also on race rubber).

Further back, Casey Stoner again impressed with the fourth fastest time – beating fellow Honda rookie Dani Pedrosa, runner-up on Sunday – while Tech 3 Yamaha’s Carlos Checa shot up the order after a difficult race weekend with sixth on his Dunlop shod M1.